The Price I Paid
by stopdeezboobs
Summary: The leaves of Konoha are stirring. Life is deceptively calm after Orochimaru's death, but new villains surface, and before she knows it, Hinata's sister vanishes without a trace. Read and review !
1. Prologue

**The Price I Paid**

Rating: Fairly PG stuff. Nothing you can't stomach.

Pairings: I can't bear to tell you now.

Disclaimers: This applies to the rest of the chapters as well. I do not own Naruto; Masashi Kishimoto does. There you go.

By the way: Naruto is twenty-three now. Just for the record. And you _have _to review after this. You can't not do it. It'd kill me.

**Prologue**

_Five years ago._

It was an exceptionally hot day. The constant wind in the Hidden Village of Sand had reached storm proportions and the everyone had locked their doors and shut their windows quickly lest the wind blew sand into their houses, which could be a very irritating thing indeed because it ruined the delicate tatami mats.

A lone figure swathed in brown clothing sat calmly atop a roof, almost completely oblivious to the sand whipping about him. He stared vaguely into space. Unblinking, his face was unreadable, like a perfectly painted theatremask.

Yes, Gaara of the Sand loved his alone times. Then nobody could bother him about Kazekage duties and the like. He should create whirlwinds like these more often. Maybe one day he'd create one so gorgeously disastrous that it killed everyone in its path as it swept across the entire country. He felt a sliver of excitement at the thought, then squashed it hurriedly.

He had a proper reason to live now.

Suddenly his nose picked up two distinct scents coming from the corner of the street. An older woman and a young child. He flicked his turquoise eyes towards them, mostly out of boredom rather than interest. She wasn't an older woman, she was a teenager who appeared to be in her twenties (appeared, because you never know these days. Plastic surgery and all that). Undeniably attractive, but it was the little girl beside her who caught his attention.

Something stirred inside him.

He stared at the child, who couldn't be more than ten years old. Six years younger than him. Her older sister was clutching to her desperately. Sickening. It kind of reminded him of Temari and Kankuruo—

Her blood sang out sweetly and clearly to him. Better than Sasuke's, light years away from the Godaime's but good blood is good blood. And he was already feeling an incredible power surge inside him and rumble like thunder.

The girl looked around her nervously. Gaara almost thought she could sense him, but that was impossible. They were too far away and the suspended sand obscured her vision (without blocking his, of course). Sure enough, she lowered her head in a matter of seconds. But then she started running in the opposite direction, screaming.

The lady looked at her silhouette in confusion, then was after her in a split second.

"Eriko-chan!" she shouted, chasing after the child frantically. "What's gotten into you? Eriko!"

The Kazekage rolled his eyes and turned away. The wind blew more sand into his hair and across his torso. He had more important things to do than think about little girls. Even the potentially powerful kind.

And Eriko. What a stupid name.

* * *

Um, just in case you get worried, Gaara is _not _going to fall in love with any of the new characters or anything, because that's just _wrong_. May he be a bachelor for ever and ever. Huffah !

Onwards, review !


	2. Chapter 2

The Price I Paid 

Rating: Fairly PG stuff. Nothing you can't stomach.

Pairings: I can't bear to tell you now.

Disclaimers: This applies to the rest of the chapters as well. I do not own Naruto; Masashi Kishimoto does. There you go.

By the way: Naruto is twenty-three now. Just for the record. And you _have _to review after this. You can't not do it. It'd kill me.

**Chapter 1: Naruto's Birthday Surprise**

'_Everyone's got to face down the demons, _

_Maybe today, _

_We can put the past away_ '

—"Jumper", Third Eye Blind.

Hinata, the new head of the Hyuuga Clan, stared at the neat stacks of paper on the surface of the squat table. The stark black characters danced across her line of vision and the room spun in a kaleidoscope of dull and somber greens, blues and blacks. Ancient scrolls, reciting the origins of the Hyuuga clan, hung on the otherwise bare concrete walls of the study. Finely woven tatami mats were spread across the floor. This was only the study room, however: select panels, usually the ones colored black, led to various sections of the left wing that only Hyuuga Hinata (and that's Hinata-_sama­ _to you), occupied.

Closing her eyes, she pictured a nice warm bed and pillows as fluffy as a cloud. Then she killed the thought immediately. She _was_ the new Head of the Hyuuga Clan. Responsibilities and all that, including getting stuck in this horribly traditional idea of a study room. 'Renovations are in order,' she thought suddenly. She would get someone to move the PS2 over by the end of the day.

She twirled her ball-point pen idly, and started to peruse the contents of yet another letter. The Leaf's Tree-Planting Day, celebrated in honor of the first Hokage who loved trees, will be celebrated a week from now. Tradition demanded that three (three, as in _tree, _geddit) members of every family clan in Konoha attend. Psh. Hinata remembered all the years she has been forced to go. She tried not to smile, but she was just too happy for her sister Hanabi who will have the honorable privilege this year.

All of a sudden sunlight penetrated the thick paper-covered windows, and its shutters, to beam at Hinata. She pursed her lips. Her heart filled with something light and breezy (could be carbon monoxide, Hinata decided), she carefully hoisted herself to her feet. Because of her father's traditional, unoriginal and unimaginative ways, there were recesses under each and every table in the Manor. It's a kind of sunken pit in which one has to sit in so that the table itself is slightly above ground level. Horrible thing to bear if you're short (and Hinata is not. Definitely not.)

She moved quickly, sliding the heavy, well-oiled wooden door open and stepping out onto a cool stone floor. Her well-made sandals made no sound as she progressed through the hushed corridors of the Manor, empty as catacombs, and spreading and merging endlessly.

The Hyuugas of the Main Family boasted an enormous property that included an underground sauna, three training halls, a sizeable lake and a complicated maze meant to entrap intruders as only the people with Byakugan eyes can see through the walls of the maze to locate the exit. On top of all that, Hinata's herb garden is as large as the Stadium in which the Chuunin finals were held.

She smiled contentedly as she pushed the iron gate open and basked in the warmth of the morning sun, looking up at the sky as she did so. The breeze was cool and its freshness stung her nostrils as she inhaled air into her lungs.

She removed her sandals, placing them neatly at the entrance of the herb garden. The grass felt cool, soft and damp beneath her feet.

"Hinata-sama." She inclined her head towards the voice, blinked when she saw who it was.

"Ohayo, Neji-niisan." Then, politely, "Why are you using your Byakugan?"

"Checking the area for suspicious individuals," he returned gallantly. "Well, there is only the gardener, eleven meters and sixteen inches away from us, and he's snipping at a plant. So you're safe, Hinata-sama." He swatted at a fly and tried to be inconspicuous about it.

She just looked at him calmly. "Well, thank you for that."

"It's my duty."

Hinata bent and touched the petals of a white flower tenderly. It is one of those flowers that spring up in the least likely of places, in ditches or lakes, in winter or hell. This one was small and wilting, its petals tinged with brown crispness.

She snapped its head off in one swift motion and tucked it between the folds of her black kimono. The petals poked out from the center of her chest. Cowering from the world.

"That does not stop me from appreciating all that you have done for me," she told Neji, her eyes clouding over. "I . . . I am still grateful."

"You are stuttering."

"And you are still using your Byakugan."

He stared at her. She spun on her heel and walked off in the direction of her study. There were more pressing concerns, like how to break it to Neji later on, at the dinner table, that he'd been picked as one of the judges at the Annual Konoha Bird Singing Competition.

There was a visitor in the house. Her niece told her, in a reverent whisper, that the visitor had seated herself in the dining room without permission.

"Thank you, Misa-chan," Hinata answered lightly, glancing down at the small, fine-boned kid. Hyuuga Misa reminded Hinata of herself when she was younger—insecure, unhappy and frustrated that everyone didn't understand what she wanted to say all the time.

'One of these days,' Hinata promised herself. 'One of these days I will talk to Misa-chan. About herself. About me.'

"Hey," she called out, before the little girl turned to hurry back to her room. Misa coughed, halted and bowed her head. She daren't look at the elegant, collected Head of the Clan in the eye.

Understanding, Hinata reached out with a long finger, lifted her young niece's chin with it, and said quietly, "That's how it's done." Then she stepped around the stunned girl and was out of the room.

Haruno Sakura was settled comfortably in her seat at the table, drumming her fingers on the glass surface. Now a Jounin who specialized in medicine, Sakura decided to forgo ANBU duties and become the sensei of a genin team instead. Hyuuga Hanabi happened to be one of her students.

They usually met up like this, either casually or to discuss Hanabi's progress. Over the years the both of them had gotten very well-acquainted. Even so, Sakura had never made her way to Hinata's house before.

"Sakura-san," Hinata said, allowing an edge of surprise to creep into her voice. "Is something the matter? I thought the team would be training now."

The pink-haired woman smiled. "Hinata-sempai, I came here on the basis of two reasons. The first one is your sister Hanabi."

A frown creased her forehead. "Oh, no. Has Hanabi—"

"I'm sorry to say, but yes."

"Where was it?"

Sakura ran a hand through her cropped hair. "This afternoon. We were delivering books to one of the Council members' house."

Hinata rose from her seat and bowed deeply. "I apologize on Hanabi-chan's behalf, Sakura-san. I thought she'd reformed—"

"Hinata! Don't bow to me, there's no need! It was resolved very quickly, and the Council member forgave her after that. Please, get up!"

When it didn't work, Sakura bodily straightened Hinata's spine with her arms. With a reproving glare, she said sternly, "_Hinata. _I said, you shouldn't have to bow to me. Anyway, are you going to Ino's with me today? That was the other reason I came to look for you."

Hyuuga Clan's leader blinked, and cocked her head. "Ino's? What's the occasion?"

Sakura clucked her tongue. "You really must be rushed off your feet, sempai, to actually forget Naruto's birthday. Party on the hilltop!"

* * *

Notes: Not very good is it? -Flops away-

Some feedback, please? Click that button!


End file.
